Hero
by RobertDowneyJrLove
Summary: News reports involving Afghanistan break Tony.


The news reports had been playing for the better part of an hour. The screens lighting up with reports of the happenings in Afghanistan, of the horrible, hellish things taking place in a country he knew all too well. The darkness of his bedroom did nothing to hide the pain and anguish that filled his chocolate eyes. The lack of sound coming from the TV did nothing to stop the pain, did nothing to stop the tears that were clinging to his eyelashes. The pain that he had been dealing with for almost a year. The pain that lingered in the back of his mind, the pain that had taken over his heart, that had made him transform his company. The pain that, for almost a year, had been all he had felt.

Even though he couldn't hear it, he could see it, he could see it playing out before his eyes and all he could think was that he was helpless to stop it, not even Iron Man could clean up this mess. It was too big even for him. He could see it, and that's all he needed to feel it. To feel the almost unbearable pain returning. The pain that had tortured him for months on in with no end in sight. The pain that he struggled with on a daily basis. The pain that sent him back to his biggest demon.

"Tony." Her voice cut through his painful reverie as she settled her head on his shoulder, comfortably tucked underneath his arm. "Stop it. You're only torturing yourself."

"I don't know what to do anymore, Pepper." He whispered, his voice filled with every bit of the pain he was feeling at that moment. "I can't stop it. I can't help it. I want to do something, but I can't. I can only watch as thousands of people die for no apparent reason. I feel like that should be me dying, not all of those innocent people."

His voice was shaky and weak, pain coating every word, evidence that he was in agony over the videos playing on the screen. Agonizing over the fact that he couldn't do anything to help, to save the poor innocent people dying. His hand tightened around Pepper's arm, his fingers seeking solace in the warm softness of her skin, as he watched the videos with agonizing sadness, over something he was helpless to stop.

"Someone once told me that love would be the thing that saved the world." Tony whispered, his voice quiet and so distraught, he was bringing her tears. "But, Pep, how can that be when love is giving this? A world full of killings, a world full of wars and blood-spilling? How can love save a world like this? How can it be so powerful that it could save a world like this? A world full of wars and nuclear bombs?"

His questions were so sad and so agonizingly anguished that Pepper wanted nothing more than to take his pain away. Tony had never been affected by the happenings of the war in Afghanistan before, but now, after being captured and held captive in the city, he was more affected and knew first-hand, the kinds of things that could happen to people if they were to make one wrong move. He knew first hand the kind of torture one would be forced to endure should they do something wrong. He knew what being held captive in a cave was like.

The pain, the emotionally scarring pain along with the physical scars, was real to Tony, who seemed invincible until Afghanistan, until Obadiah Stane, until Iron Man. He was brave, fearless and amazingly strong as Iron Man, but the man underneath the suit, the real Tony Stark, who felt real emotions, who felt real pain and real tears, was not brave, he wasn't fearless and his strength disappeared as soon as the suit came off. The real Tony Stark put up a front that few could see through. He hid the pain, the raw, torturous pain that choked his subconscious on a daily basis. The real Tony Stark felt every bit of pain that came with being a prisoner by the very people he sold his weapons too.

"Love can save the world, in some ways, but it depends on the kind of love." Pepper told him quietly, "The love of power and money, that is what causes carelessness, what causes war and destruction, the kind of love that only power-hungry men are capable of."

"Stane." Tony whispered, his voice choked with pain and the kind of anguish that was slowly breaking Pepper's heart. Tony was rarely in this kind of pain, choosing to keep that front up until he was sure it was safe to let it down.

"Yes. But Tony, there's also another kind of love." Pepper smiled, reaching up to stroke his cheek, "The kind of love that only a man, who's experienced emotional and physical pain first-hand, is capable of. The kind of love that brings out a generosity and a compassion that most men greatly lack. The kind of love that shows what a real man is."

She could tell that his guard was coming down, her words were slowly crumbling his usually unbreakable walls. He was letting his guard down, and letting her in. The tears of sheer agony blurring his vision slowly slipped down his cheeks as she continued.

"There's only one person I know who has ever loved like that. He isn't made of iron, he doesn't fly around the world and he isn't a nuclear deterrent. He is simply a man, whose heart is finally catching up to what his brain has already seen." Pepper's words were gentle and exactly what Tony needed to hear at that moment. "He's simply a kind, compassionate man who knows first-hand what kind of pain those poor, innocent people must be in. He's the kind of man who feels emotionally pained and helpless to stop it."

She was describing him, the kind of man he had become since becoming Iron Man. The kind of man his mother would have been proud of, the kind of man that Pepper was proud of. The kind of man he had always wanted to be but was kept hidden by Obadiah Stane.

"I don't know what to do, Pepper." Tony whispered softly, obviously struggling with the tidal wave of emotions threatening to take over at any moment. "I feel like I should be doing something, but I have no idea what that something is. I don't know anymore."

"And that's okay, Tony." Pepper whispered reassuringly, "It's okay to not know. Some things aren't meant to be known. Tony, in all of your brilliance, there's a fragility and a need. A need to know things that maybe aren't necessarily meant to be known."

He tilted his head down, burying his face in her vanilla scented hair. As the warm scent of vanilla invaded his nostrils, his tears increased and all of the pain he had been feeling from the videos, from everything, finally poured out in one hot, salty stream of tears.

"It's okay to break, Tony." Pepper whispered, stroking his tumble of chocolate brown hair. Her hair was wet and matting from his tears but at that point she didn't really care to much. He was finally showing her what he had been hiding behind the red and gold mask. The kind of pain that he had hidden behind the red and gold armor, behind the iron, behind the miniaturized arc reactor in his chest.

A year later, it was finally coming down. The walls he had worked so hard to keep up were coming down and he was helpless to stop them. Helplessness, an emotion that he wasn't quite accustomed too and something Pepper was sure didn't quite fit with Tony Stark. The world would never see this Tony Stark, not the helpless, broken down Tony Stark who didn't know what to do, or what to feel. The world would never see the Tony Stark who only felt pain and a helplessness that he hated. Only Pepper Potts saw this side of the usually stoic Tony Stark.

"Jarvis, shut it off." Pepper whispered as Tony finally settled, his head resting just above hers as she settled her head back on his shoulder. She brought her hand up and covered what she could of the dim blue light.

The warmth of the blue light reminded her of the warmth and security that Tony was longing to feel again. The security of being able to watch a news report without crumbling into a helpless heap of a man. He needed the warmth of someone who wasn't afraid to love him, all of him, including his weaknesses. He needed the safety and security of a love that he could give and know that it was being returned. He needed to love and be loved in return.

"Promise me something, Pep?" Tony whispered into the still darkness of his bedroom.

"What is to Tony?" Pepper asked him, already willing to promise whatever it was he may have needed.

"Promise me that if the day ever comes when I doubt who I am and whether or not you love me, promise me that you'll remind me. Promise me that you won't let the pain break me completely?" Tony whispered brokenly, "I, I just need to know that someone will be there."

"I promise, Tony." Pepper whispered as her eyes slid closed. "Forever."

He bent his arm and threaded his fingers in her hair, resting his chin on top of her head as he too fell asleep, the promise of forever lingering in the back of his mind. Someday he would come to terms with the events in Afghanistan, someday the pain wouldn't be so sharp and unbearable and someday he'd learn that to love and be loved in return is one of the greatest gifts a person can give and receive. For right now though, he had Pepper to remind him that it was okay to feel pain, that it was okay that he hadn't quite come to terms with the events of Afghanistan.

Most importantly, he had Pepper to remind him of the kind of man he had become and the kind of love that, if given, would be gladly received and returned by whomever he chose to give it too. For right now though, she received that love and she gladly returned it.

Iron Man was a red and gold suit of armor that transformed Tony Stark into a superhero but little did the world know, Tony Stark was already a superhero to the only person that matters most to him, Pepper Potts. To her, he loved as Tony Stark, a man who had transformed into someone kind, caring and compassionate and a man who was scared that without iron man, love was useless but most of all, because even though he had those insecurities, he loved anyway.

To her, he was a superhero, but not because of any red and gold iron suit, but because he was simply a kind, caring and compassionate man who was finally understanding what his heart had been telling him all of these years.

_"...It isn't the love of a hero, and that's why I fear it won't do.." _

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_**The last line is part of the song Hero by Nickelback featuring Josey Scott from Saliva. The reason for that particular line is because it ties in with why Pepper sees Tony Stark as the superhero, not Iron Man, because his heart was finally catching up to his mind and he's finally understanding that love isn't about being able to save the world in a red and gold suit. **

**This story came to me after I watched the Iron Man music video someone made set to this particular song. It occurred to me that even though he acted like it in the second movie, Tony might not have come to terms with his time spent in a cave in Afghanistan and that maybe seeing someone else experience what he did, might break him, even though he tried to act all tough and strong. Basically I wanted him to show some emotion, I wanted him to show his weaker side. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, Iron Man is fictional and Robert Downey Jr. is married :( **


End file.
